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Comment by hardtke | Hacker News Reader

My brother is a contractor in the Bay Area and he told me that PG&E will not allow the installation of 220 volt EV charging infrastructure in new construction or a home remodel unless the homeowner can prove they already own an EV. Add to that the issue of people who live in apartment buildings and condos and I don't see how we can scale up consumer demand quickly enough.

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How does PG&E have the authority to regulate the instalation of EV charging? Do you mean they won't install a higher amp service panel like 200A instead of 150A?

If that's the case, it's not that crazy or unusual. While you used to be able to pay to upgrade your service panel, if everyone on the same block or segment of the grid all wants the higher service panel then it will require upgrades to the existing electrical lines and sub stations.

It makes a lot of sense to limit installing larger service panels to customers who will actual use it rather than haphazardly over provision the grid. But you can still easily charge an EV at 50A on a standard 150A or even 100A panel.

Either way, charging an EV on a 150A panel can still be pretty easy depending on what else is there. People think you need a 60A circuit to charge an EV, but even charging at 12A at 240V will give you well over 100 miles of charge overnight. My charger uses 32A and finishes charging my normal days in a little over an hour.

It's cheaper and easier to install a smart panel than to upgrade your service. You probably only need >100A service if you run your oven, dryer, aircon & car charging simultaneously. A smart panel will ensure that never happens. A cheaper alternative to a smart panel is the "Dryer Buddy" and competitors.

> My brother is a contractor in the Bay Area and he told me that PG&E will not allow the installation of 220 volt EV charging infrastructure in new construction or a home remodel unless the homeowner can prove they already own an EV.

How can they do that? Could you just say you want to install an electric dryer in your garage (or even buy a used one off of CraigsList and literally do it for a week)?

Or welder compressor medically needed air conditioner etc.

That's weird. It's not any different than the power for a clothes dryer or a stove.

The problem is using too many of these high energy devices at the same time you are charging the vehicle. We need smart meters which can turn off vehicle charging or hot water heating while the dryer or kitchen stove/oven are in use.

Do you know what the story is with that prerequisite? Speaking for literally everyone, I'd rather have charging infrastructure I can't utilize quite yet than a car I can't charge to use quite yet.

Not directly related to cars, but PG&E is unable to handle the incoming requests for electrical system upgrades[1]. Many older houses don't have the electrical panel capacity and they need engineering signoff from the utility.

[1] https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/home-pge-electri...

Subject and writer are idiots. Any electrician worth their master license would not have installed a 125A panel in 2019 unless this woman lives in a converted cottage. Also unless this woman is running a grow house or has a 4000 square foot home they intend to heat with resistive heating she will never use 300A service.

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